1. Indicate the features of socio-economic relations that developed in Europe during the early Middle Ages. Formulate the differences between a neighboring community and a tribal community.

Features of early medieval socio-economic relations:

Instead of a single Roman Empire, many separate kingdoms arose in Europe, which periodically continued to fragment;

Large Roman estates passed into the hands of new kings and nobility, or remained in the hands of the Romans, who became part of the kings' inner circle;

The economic structure of Roman estates did not undergo significant changes in the first centuries;

In non-Romanized and weakly Romanized territories, there was an active transition from the tribal community to the rural one;

In the barbarian tribes, the process of property stratification was actively underway:

In the VII-IX centuries. large landownership also established itself in non-Romanized and weakly Romanized territories;

In the X-XI centuries. agrarian relations in most countries of Western Europe have become more complicated;

Property stratification led to the emergence of many categories of dependent peasants, who later united into a single layer of feudal dependents;

There was a massive outflow of the population from cities to villages, both due to the frequent wars that devastated the cities, and because the cities, in a subsistence economy, became almost unnecessary in economic life; the townspeople could not find food for themselves;

Very slowly, agricultural traditions borrowed from the Mediterranean region were replaced by new ones better suited to a more northern climate, such as the use of natural fertilizers and the cultivation of legumes.

The most important process during this period is considered to be the change from the tribal community to the neighboring one. Members of a clan community, as the name suggests, are related by kinship. But gradually, resettlement without taking into account kinship eroded it; people moved not to their relatives, but to where they could better feed themselves. Thus, a neighboring community was formed, that is, one in which people were connected only by a common place of residence and adherence to certain rules, but not by family ties.

2. Trace how the system of large land ownership was formed in the early feudal states. Explain the specifics of land ownership and land use in Europe in the 7th-10th centuries.

The process of formation of large land holdings occurred differently on different lands. Where Roman influence was strong (that is, Romanization was successful), the land was already mainly divided between large estates, which only changed owners; although this often did not happen either: the barbarian kings needed experienced administrators from among the Roman nobility.

This process took place differently on non-Romanized or weakly Romanized lands. They mean territories that were not part of the Roman Empire, or those in which Roman traditions did not take root; the process of barbarization was actively underway in the last centuries of the empire’s existence. In such areas, the land continued to belong to rural communities. But with the deepening stratification of property, many members of the community began to lose their lands for various reasons and cede them to more fortunate neighbors. After several generations, more fortunate members of the community, having accumulated large holdings in their hands, could speed up the process of ruining the remaining neighbors and obtaining their lands. The result was approximately the same as in the Romanized territories - large land ownership.

In Roman times there were more or less standardized categories of slaves and coloni. The barbarians had only patriarchal slaves. But in the VII-X centuries. The process of property stratification has gone quite far. Many previously free members of communities lost their freedom completely or partially. But they lost it to varying degrees and under different conditions, which led to the emergence, in addition to slaves and columns, of numerous new categories of dependent peasants.

3. Describe the situation of the dependent population. How did this dependence develop? What duties did peasants perform for using the land?

Addiction most often occurred when a person was unable to feed himself or pay off a debt. This happened for various reasons: as a result of crop failures, military disasters, and less often, old age without heirs. Such a person sought the protection of an influential landowner. In exchange for patronage, dependent peasants provided quitrents (usually in kind), corvee gradually began to spread, and they also performed smaller duties such as delivering the master's goods on their own carts.

4. What did the vassalage relationship mean?

Vassalage relations arose between feudal lords. They meant mutual obligations. The lord provided the vassal with an estate in full and hereditary ownership with the right to full disposal of the land and dependent categories of the population; the vassal was obliged to the lord for military service and full support; in case of failure to fulfill his duty, he could lose his estate. Vassalage relations formed a special culture, which determined the appearance of medieval Western Europe.

5. What role did the Christian Church play in the early Middle Ages? What was the relationship between church and secular authorities?

Immediately after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular authorities depended on whether their beliefs coincided. Barbarian conquerors were often baptized while still living outside the Roman borders, but they were baptized, for example, into Arianism, like the Visigoths. Relations with the church, for example, among the Franks, were much simpler. The Franks remained pagans for a long time, and then were baptized into the faith of the majority of the population of the lands they conquered - Catholicism.

In any case, even in the case of divergent confessions, the new kings needed the church, which was considered as a factor in the centralization of the state and a source of experienced administrators. These were especially needed when managing cities. As a result, royal power usually did not limit the rights of the church and preserved its land holdings. Thanks to this, the influence of the church did not decrease, and soon conflicts between kings and bishops began. However, they were of a private nature and did not form a general trend; they only spoke about the importance of the church in society.

Over time, the Arian royal families were destroyed or converted to Catholicism. At this stage, the alliance between church and state became even closer. Monasteries turned out to be the largest land owners; the influence of bishops and archbishops was not inferior to the influence of counts and dukes. There was a merging of these two authorities at the local level. Often in a certain area, the majority of church positions were occupied by representatives of the dominant family of feudal lords in that area.

The merging of secular and spiritual power also occurred at the highest level. In the 8th century The popes ideologically justified the power of the new dynasty of the Franks (later called Carolingian). In exchange for this, the Frankish kings strongly supported the popes in the struggle against their neighbors and for the unification of the Catholic Church under the leadership of the popes. The apogee of this union was the proclamation of the French king Charlemagne as emperor in 800. The revival of this Roman title meant that Charles was given the right to unite secular and spiritual power while relying on the popes in spiritual life, as was the case under the Roman emperors, starting with Constantine the Great .

6. Indicate the directions of the Norman conquests. Explain why the Norman conquests led to increased royal power in the Germanic lands.

Norman expansion spread in almost all directions, with the exception of the north. The Vikings devastated all the Christian coasts of the Baltic and Mediterranean seas, the Atlantic Ocean, and traveled far from the coasts along rivers (in particular, they besieged Paris). They tried to direct their raids against the Muslim states of the Mediterranean, but received a decisive rebuff. In the east, the Vikings moved along the great rivers and reached the Black Sea, besieging Constantinople. Expansion in the western direction was peaceful, in the form of colonization. The Scandinavians settled Iceland and part of Greenland, and apparently also landed in North America.

Lands of Germany in the 9th-10th centuries. were subjected to devastating Viking raids from the Baltic Sea. At the same time, they were attacked by the Hungarians, who had recently settled in Pannonia. Under these conditions, the nobility of Germany united around the king, supporting the power of a single Saxon dynasty. In return, the nobility received not only protection from raids, which the kings eventually managed to cope with, but also the opportunity to expand in the Slavic lands.

7. What changed in the social structure of the Scandinavians as a result of their interaction with the peoples of Western and Central Europe?

War booty accelerated the stratification of property among the Scandinavians themselves. The power of the kings became hereditary, and the nobility stood out from among the successful warriors. However, real feudal relations, due to the poverty of the harvest in Scandinavia, made their way slowly and, for example, in Norway did not fully develop (only cultural imitation of European knights was observed).

The medieval Viking era dates back to the period of the 8th-11th centuries, when the European seas were plied by brave robbers originally from Scandinavia. Their raids struck terror into the civilized inhabitants of the Old World. The Vikings were not only robbers, but also traders and explorers. They were pagans by religion.

The emergence of the Vikings

In the 8th century, residents of the territory of modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark began to build the fastest ships at that time and go on long journeys on them. They were pushed into these adventures by the harsh nature of their native lands. Agriculture in Scandinavia was poorly developed due to the cold climate. The modest harvest did not allow local residents to sufficiently feed their families. Thanks to the robberies, the Vikings became noticeably richer, which gave them the opportunity not only to buy food, but also to trade with their neighbors

The first attack by sailors on neighboring countries occurred in 789. Then the robbers attacked Dorset in southwest England, killed the than and robbed the city. Thus began the Viking Age. Another important reason for the emergence of mass piracy was the disintegration of the previous system based on community and clan. The nobility, having strengthened their influence, began to create the first prototypes of states on For such jarls, robberies became a source of wealth and influence among their compatriots.

Skilled Sailors

The key reason for the Vikings' conquests and geographical discoveries was their ships, which were much better than any other European ones. Scandinavian warships were called drakkars. Sailors often used them as their own home. Such ships were mobile. They could be dragged to the shore relatively easily. At first the ships were oared, but later they acquired sails.

Drakkars were distinguished by their elegant shape, speed, reliability and lightness. They were designed specifically for shallow rivers. By entering them, the Vikings could go deep into the ravaged country. Such voyages came as a complete surprise to the Europeans. As a rule, longships were built from ash wood. They are an important symbol that early medieval history left behind. The Viking Age was not only a period of conquest, but also a period of trade development. For this purpose, the Scandinavians used special merchant ships - knorrs. They were wider and deeper than longships. Much more goods could be loaded onto such ships.

The Viking Age in Northern Europe was marked by the development of navigation. The Scandinavians did not have any special instruments (for example, a compass), but they made good use of the clues of nature. These sailors knew the habits of birds thoroughly and took them with them on voyages to determine whether there was land nearby (if there was none, the birds returned to the ship). The researchers also navigated by the sun, stars and moon.

Raids on Britain

The first Scandinavian raids on England were fleeting. They plundered defenseless monasteries and promptly returned to the sea. However, gradually the Vikings began to lay claim to the lands of the Anglo-Saxons. There was no single kingdom in Britain at that time. The island was divided among several rulers. In 865, the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok set out for Northumbria, but his ships ran aground and were destroyed. The uninvited guests were surrounded and taken prisoner. King Aella II of Northumbria executed Ragnar by ordering him to be thrown into a pit full of poisonous snakes.

Lodbrok's death did not go unpunished. Two years later, the Great Pagan Army landed on the shores of England. This army was led by numerous sons of Ragnar. The Vikings conquered East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. The rulers of these kingdoms were executed. The last stronghold of the Anglo-Saxons was South Wessex. Its king, Alfred the Great, realizing that his forces were not enough to fight the invaders, concluded a peace treaty with them, and then, in 886, completely recognized their possessions in Britain.

Conquest of England

It took Alfred and his son Edward the Elder four decades to clear their homeland of foreigners. Mercia and East Anglia were liberated by 924. In remote northern Northumbria, Viking rule continued for another thirty years.

After some lull, the Scandinavians again began to appear frequently off the British coast. The next wave of raids began in 980, and in 1013 Sven Forkbeard completely captured the country and became its king. His son Canute the Great ruled three monarchies at once for three decades: England, Denmark and Norway. After his death, the former dynasty from Wessex regained power, and foreigners left Britain.

In the 11th century, the Scandinavians made several more attempts to conquer the island, but they all failed. The Viking Age, in short, left a noticeable imprint on the culture and government of Anglo-Saxon Britain. On the territory that the Danes owned for some time, the Danelaw was established - a system of law adopted from the Scandinavians. This region was isolated from other English provinces throughout the Middle Ages.

Normans and Franks

The Viking Age is the period of the Norman attacks. It was under this name that the Scandinavians were remembered by their Catholic contemporaries. If the Vikings sailed to the west mainly to plunder England, then in the south the goal of their campaigns was the Frankish Empire. It was created in 800 by Charlemagne. While under him and under his son Louis the Pious, a single strong state was maintained, the country was reliably protected from the pagans.

However, when the empire split into three kingdoms, and they, in turn, began to suffer from the costs of the feudal system, dizzying opportunities opened up for the Vikings. Some Scandinavians plundered the coast every year, while others were hired to serve the Catholic rulers in order to protect Christians for a generous salary. During one of their raids, the Vikings even captured Paris.

In 911, the king of the Franks, Charles the Simple, gave the region to the Vikings. This region became known as Normandy. Its rulers were baptized. This tactic proved effective. More and more Vikings gradually switched to a sedentary lifestyle. But some brave souls continued their campaigns. So, in 1130, the Normans conquered southern Italy and created the Kingdom of Sicily.

Scandinavian discovery of America

Moving further west, the Vikings discovered Ireland. They frequently raided this island and left a significant imprint on the local Celtic culture. For more than two centuries, the Scandinavians ruled Dublin. Around 860, the Vikings discovered Iceland ("Iceland"). They became the first inhabitants of this deserted island. Iceland proved to be a popular location for colonization. Residents of Norway sought there, fleeing the country due to frequent civil wars.

In 900, a Viking ship accidentally lost its way and stumbled upon Greenland. The first colonies appeared there at the end of the 10th century. This discovery inspired other Vikings to continue searching for a route to the west. They rightly hoped that there were new lands far beyond the sea. Around the year 1000, the navigator reached the shores of North America and landed on the Labrador Peninsula. He called this region Vinland. Thus, the Viking Age was marked by the discovery of America five centuries before the expedition of Christopher Columbus.

Rumors about this country were fragmentary and did not leave Scandinavia. In Europe they never learned about the western continent. Viking settlements in Vinland lasted for several decades. Three attempts were made to colonize this land, but they all failed. Indians attacked strangers. Maintaining contact with the colonies was extremely difficult due to the enormous distances. Eventually the Scandinavians left America. Much later, archaeologists found traces of their settlement in Canadian Newfoundland.

Vikings and Rus'

In the second half of the 8th century, Viking detachments began to attack lands inhabited by numerous Finno-Ugric peoples. This is evidenced by archaeological finds discovered in the Russian Staraya Ladoga. If in Europe the Vikings were called Normans, then the Slavs called them Varangians. The Scandinavians controlled several trading ports along the Baltic Sea in Prussia. Here began the profitable amber route, along which amber was transported to the Mediterranean.

How did the Viking Age influence Rus'? In short, thanks to newcomers from Scandinavia, East Slavic statehood was born. According to the official version, the residents of Novgorod, who were often in contact with the Vikings, turned to them for help during internal strife. So the Varangian Rurik was invited to reign. From him came a dynasty, which in the near future united Rus' and began to rule in Kyiv.

Life of the inhabitants of Scandinavia

In their homeland, the Vikings lived in large peasant dwellings. Under the roof of one such building there fit a family that included three generations at once. Children, parents, and grandparents lived together. This custom was an echo of houses being built from wood and clay. The roofs were turf. In the central large room there was a common fireplace, behind which they not only ate, but also slept.

Even when the Viking Age began, their cities in Scandinavia remained very small, inferior in size even to the settlements of the Slavs. People concentrated mainly around craft and trade centers. Cities were built deep in the fjords. This was done in order to obtain a convenient harbor and, in the event of an attack by an enemy fleet, to know in advance about its approach.

Scandinavian peasants dressed in woolen shirts and short, baggy pants. The Viking Age costume was quite ascetic due to the shortage of raw materials in Scandinavia. Wealthy upper classes could wear colorful clothing that made them stand out from the crowd, showing wealth and status. A woman's costume of the Viking Age necessarily included accessories - metal jewelry, a brooch, pendants and belt buckles. If a girl was married, she put her hair in a bun; unmarried girls tied their hair up with a ribbon.

Viking armor and weapons

In modern popular culture, the image of a Viking with a horned helmet on his head is common. In fact, such headdresses were rare and were no longer used for combat, but for rituals. Viking Age clothing included light armor required for all men.

The weapons were much more varied. The northerners often used a spear about one and a half meters long, which could be used to chop and stab the enemy. But the sword remained the most common. These weapons were very light compared to other types that appeared in the subsequent Middle Ages. The Viking Age sword was not necessarily made in Scandinavia itself. Warriors often purchased Frankish weapons because they were of better quality. The Vikings also had long knives - the Saxons.

The inhabitants of Scandinavia made bows from ash or yew. Braided hair was often used as a bowstring. Axes were common melee weapons. The Vikings preferred a wide, symmetrically diverging blade.

Last Normans

In the first half of the 11th century, the end of the Viking Age came. It was due to several factors. Firstly, in Scandinavia the old clan system completely disintegrated. It was replaced by classic medieval feudalism with overlords and vassals. Half of the inhabitants of Scandinavia have remained in the past and settled in their homeland.

The end of the Viking Age also came due to the spread of Christianity among the northerners. The new faith, unlike the pagan one, opposed bloody campaigns in foreign lands. Gradually, many rituals of sacrifices, etc. were forgotten. The first to be baptized were the nobility, who, with the help of the new faith, were legitimized in the eyes of the rest of the civilized European community. Following the rulers and aristocracy, ordinary residents did the same.

In the changed conditions, the Vikings, who wanted to connect their lives with military affairs, became mercenaries and served with foreign sovereigns. For example, the Byzantine emperors had their own Varangian guards. Residents of the north were valued for their physical strength, unpretentiousness in everyday life and many fighting skills. The last Viking in power in the classical sense of the word was King Harald III of Norway. He traveled to England and attempted to conquer it, but was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Then came the end of the Viking Age. William the Conqueror from Normandy (himself also a descendant of Scandinavian sailors) nevertheless conquered England in the same year.

The medieval Viking era dates back to the period of the 8th–11th centuries, when the European seas were plied by brave robbers originally from Scandinavia. Their raids struck terror into the civilized inhabitants of the Old World. The Vikings were not only robbers, but also traders and explorers. They were pagans by religion.

The emergence of the Vikings

The first attack by sailors on neighboring countries occurred in 789. Then the robbers attacked Dorset in southwest England, killed the than and robbed the city. Thus began the Viking Age. Another important reason for the emergence of mass piracy was the disintegration of the previous system based on community and clan. The nobility, having strengthened their influence, began to create the first prototypes of states on the territory of Denmark. For such jarls, robberies became a source of wealth and influence among their compatriots.

Skilled Sailors

Raids on Britain

The first Scandinavian raids on England were fleeting. They plundered defenseless monasteries and promptly returned to the sea. However, gradually the Vikings began to lay claim to the lands of the Anglo-Saxons. There was no single kingdom in Britain at that time. The island was divided among several rulers. In 865, the legendary king of Denmark, Ragnar Lothbrok, set out for Northumbria, but his ships ran aground and were destroyed. The uninvited guests were surrounded and taken prisoner. King Aella II of Northumbria executed Ragnar by ordering him to be thrown into a pit full of poisonous snakes.

Conquest of England

Normans and Franks

In Western Europe, the Viking Age is the period of Norman attacks. It was under this name that the Scandinavians were remembered by their Catholic contemporaries. If the Vikings sailed to the west mainly to plunder England, then in the south the goal of their campaigns was the Frankish Empire. It was created in 800 by Charlemagne. While under him and under his son Louis the Pious, a single strong state was maintained, the country was reliably protected from the pagans.

In 911, the Frankish king Charles the Simple gave northern France to the Vikings. This region became known as Normandy. Its rulers were baptized. This tactic proved effective. More and more Vikings gradually switched to a sedentary lifestyle. But some brave souls continued their campaigns. So, in 1130, the Normans conquered southern Italy and created the Kingdom of Sicily.

Scandinavian discovery of America

In 900, a Viking ship accidentally lost its way and stumbled upon Greenland. The first colonies appeared there at the end of the 10th century. This discovery inspired other Vikings to continue searching for a route to the west. They rightly hoped that there were new lands far beyond the sea. The navigator Leif Eriksson reached the shores of North America around the year 1000 and landed on the Labrador Peninsula. He called this region Vinland. Thus, the Viking Age was marked by the discovery of America five centuries before the expedition of Christopher Columbus.

Vikings and Rus'

Life of the inhabitants of Scandinavia

In their homeland, the Vikings lived in large peasant dwellings. Under the roof of one such building there fit a family that included three generations at once. Children, parents, and grandparents lived together. This custom was an echo of the tribal system. Houses were built from wood and clay. The roofs were turf. In the central large room there was a common fireplace, behind which they not only ate, but also slept.

Viking armor and weapons

The inhabitants of Scandinavia made bows from ash or yew. Braided hair was often used as a bowstring. Axes were common melee weapons. The Vikings preferred a wide, symmetrically diverging blade.

Last Normans

In the first half of the 11th century, the end of the Viking Age came. It was due to several factors. Firstly, in Scandinavia the old clan system completely disintegrated. It was replaced by classic medieval feudalism with overlords and vassals. The semi-nomadic way of life is also a thing of the past. The inhabitants of Scandinavia settled in their homeland.

", the beginning of the "Dark Ages". The attitude towards the early Middle Ages in Europe as a period of cultural decline became prevalent during the Renaissance. It was also typical of the views of the enlighteners of the 18th century, who also influenced the views of historical science of the 19th-20th centuries.

Meanwhile, it was during the early Middle Ages that the foundation was laid for the rapid change in the appearance of Europe in modern times, the rapid expansion of European civilization.

Social and economic relations of the early Middle Ages

In the V - X centuries. The nature of the socio-economic development of European peoples has become closer.

According to the hierarchy established in the Frankish lands, the knight had to have possessions that would allow him to create a fighting unit (spear). It included the knight himself, his squire and 3-4 armed horsemen-servants. A baron was required to have at least six knights as vassals. The possessions of viscounts, counts, and marquises included from three to six baronies. A duchy consists of at least four counties. A kingdom could be called a possession that united the lands of at least four duchies (or 16 counties, or 64 baronies).

The basis of the armies of early feudal states was heavy knightly cavalry. Since armor, weapons and a war horse, accustomed to carry a lot of weight, were expensive (equipping one knight cost about the same as 45 cows), the number of troops was small. The armies of large feudal lords numbered several hundred knights, each of whom was accompanied by servants and squires.

As more and more lands passed into the hands of vassals, they became less and less dependent on the favors of kings. The aspirations of the largest landowners for complete power over their possessions were weakened by the early feudal powers that emerged after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Sovereigns could not always rely on the unconditional support of their vassals. Monarchs, in order to maintain their power, used rivalry between feudal lords and resorted to methods of court intrigue and dynastic marriages.

Only the emergence of a common threat to all prompted the Baccals to obey. Thus, the conquest of Spain by Muslim Arabs at the beginning of the 8th century and their invasion of Gaul contributed to the strengthening of the Frankish kingdom, which faced the need to repel the conquerors.

Gradually, general norms of behavior and rules of rivalry, a knightly code of honor emerged (in fact, it did not exclude treachery, betrayal, or murder, but encouraged at least outward observance of decency).

Among the knights, the greatest respect was given to physical strength, endurance, dexterity, and the ability to wield weapons. Thus, Charlemagne, judging by the chronicles, could not jump over two horses placed side by side. The English king Richard the Lionheart was lifting an adult man at the end of a spear.

Religious unity of Europe

The customs and traditions of different regions of Europe, as well as the names of the titles of the nobility, do not coincide in different languages. However, in the early Middle Ages, an important factor in the unity of the ruling layer of various European states emerged - a community of religion.

The Ecumenical Councils convened in Byzantium were considered the highest authority of the Christian Church. Along with them, the episcopal sees, created back in the days of the Roman Empire by the apostles of Christ, enjoyed special authority. The Roman one, founded by the eldest of the apostles, Peter, claimed the leading role among them. However, the supremacy of the Roman Church and its head, the pope, was not recognized for a long time either by other episcopates or by secular rulers.

In the V-VII centuries. Each of the monarchs sought to control the life of the church in the territory under their control. The kings, imitating the Byzantine emperor, themselves convened local church councils, approved their decisions, participated in the election of bishops, and provided “their” churches with lands. Many episcopates adhered to views considered heretical by the Byzantine church. Therefore, there was a threat of the collapse of Christianity in Western Europe into many competing religious movements.

The situation changed after the strengthening of the Frankish kingdom, which under Charlemagne (742-814) reached the peak of its power. It included the lands of modern France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, most of Germany. Charles was interested in the religious uniformity of his dominions and supported Rome's claim to supremacy in Christendom. Charles's predecessor Pepin gave the Pope lands in Central Italy, where a secular papal state was created, and took upon himself the obligation to protect its integrity.

On the initiative of Charlemagne, church reform took place. All local church institutions were eliminated, a single text of the Bible and the procedure for conducting services were established. A network of parishes was formed, to which the population of the state was attached. Monasteries designed to serve as centers for storing and transmitting knowledge received significant support.

In 800, Pope Leo lll placed the imperial crown on Charlemagne. Contemporaries perceived this as a revival of the Roman Empire.

Coronation did not mean that the power of the church was superior to the power of the emperor. The imperial rank was understood as the highest in the feudal hierarchy; its holder was considered as the head of the Christian world, a protector and at the same time the ruler of the church. Under Charles, abbots (monastery abbots) and bishops who received land took a vassal oath to the emperor. They pledged to deploy troops at his request and to take care of the spiritual well-being of the emperor’s subjects.

In 843, the Frankish empire ceased to exist. It was divided between the grandchildren of Charlemagne into three parts (East Frankish, West Frankish kingdoms and Lorraine).

The fall of the empire weakened the position of the Roman church hierarchy. Local episcopates again found themselves under the influence of numerous secular rulers at war with each other. Nevertheless, the religious and cultural unity of Western Europe was preserved. An important role was played by the fact that everywhere church services were conducted in Latin, correspondence between monarchs was carried out in the same language, court documents and chronicles were compiled.

Norman conquests and creation of the Holy Roman Empire

In the IX - X centuries. Western Europe experienced one of the last waves of migration of peoples.

At this time, the Little Ice Age ended, and climatic conditions in Europe, including the North, became favorable for economic activity. The beginning of population growth in Scandinavia with a shortage of free land caused a rapid expansion of the northern peoples. They were known to Western Europeans as Vikings or Normans, and to the Slavs as Varangians. In terms of their level of development, they were at a late stage of the decomposition of the tribal system. A special role was played by military leaders - kings. Since they were initially elected by the squad (later the power of the kings became hereditary), this system was called military democracy.

The traditional occupations of the Scandinavians were fishing and trade. They achieved great success in the development of navigation. The Vikings colonized Iceland, and remains of their settlements have been found in Greenland. They even went to the shores of North America. However, the rich lands lying to the south were of greater interest to the military leaders.

The first Norman raid was noted by chroniclers in 793, when a detachment of Scandinavians plundered and burned a monastery on the North-East coast of England. Then raids on the coastal cities of Northern and Western Europe became constant.

even reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The most powerful attack of the Normans was on the East Frankish kingdom, which included mainly German lands.

At the same time, the German lands were attacked by Hungarian nomadic tribes, who came from the southern spurs of the Ural Mountains to the Danube Plain and raided Central Europe. From the east, pressure from Slavic tribal unions increased, also seeking to expand their possessions.

Under these conditions, large German feudal lords were forced to come to terms with the strengthening of central, royal power. King Otto l (reigned 936-973) from the Saxon dynasty, which reigned in the East Frankish kingdom, relying on bishops and petty knighthood, created a strong army. In 955, the Veshrs were defeated, and their raids stopped. The Slavs lost Branibor (later Brandenburg), although the conquest of their lands on the territory of modern Germany was completed only in the 11th century. The Danish kings were forced to go on the defensive and begin to strengthen Jutland.

Having repulsed the onslaught on German lands, Otto intervened in the feuds of the Italian princes. In 962 his troops entered Rome. The pope proclaimed Otto l emperor, and the empire he created was called the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.

Otto, like his successors, dreamed of creating a single world Christian empire. However, these aspirations came into conflict with the desire of large feudal lords, dukes and princes for independence. The new empire, although it existed for more than 800 years, remained an amorphous formation and never became a real military-political force. The offensive of the kings of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden on the countries of Western Europe gradually fizzled out. Many royal houses began to hire Viking troops, using them in feudal strife. At the beginning of the 10th century, the king of France gave the Duchy of Normandy to one of the Viking leaders, Rollon, who pledged to protect the coast from raids by other conwygs.

Gradually, in the countries of Scandinavia, as in the rest of Europe, feudal relations began to develop, and Christianity spread. The pan-Scandinavian archbishopric was created in 1103. The nobility of Scandinavia became closer to the Central European feudal houses, and predatory raids ceased.

Questions and tasks

1. Indicate the features of socio-economic relations that developed in Europe during the early Middle Ages. Formulate the differences between a neighboring community and a tribal community.
2. Trace the process of formation of a system of large land ownership in the early feudal states. Explain the specifics of land ownership and land use in the 7th-10th centuries in Europe.
3. Describe the situation of the dependent population. How did this dependence develop? What duties did peasants perform for using the land?
4. Indicate the features of feudal land tenure. What did the vassalage relationship mean?
5. Why did a special military class, the knightly kingdom, develop in the Middle Ages? What were the specifics of military service?
6. What role did the Christian Church play in the early Middle Ages? What were the relations between the ecclesiastical and secular authorities?
7. Describe the role of the Viking conquests in historical development. Indicate the directions of the Norman conquests. Explain why the Norman conquests led to increased royal power in European states.
8. What changed in the social structure of the Scandinavians as a result of their interaction with European peoples?

The role of the Varangians (Vikings) in the history of Ancient Rus'

Period from VIII to XI centuries. is called in Northern and Central-Eastern Europe the “Viking Age”. At this time the Scandinavians create special type of culture, the basis of which were detachments of warriors who invaded other countries on their ships for military booty.

In the early Middle Ages, the entire coast of the Baltic, the North Sea, and even the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean (the Vikings besieged Paris and Lisbon) were subject to raids by the Varangians (Vikings). Long before Columbus, at the end of the 10th century, they visited America, discovered and colonized Iceland and Greenland. Their ships sailed into the Mediterranean Sea and reached Constantinople. “God protect us from the invasion of the Normans” - this is how many prayers in European churches of that time began as standard.

The Vikings played a big role in the development of statehood among the peoples of medieval Europe. There are three factors here. Firstly, the Vikings acted as conquerors in some places who influenced the emergence of states (name Normans reflected in the name of the duchy Normandy in the north of France; the Viking wars with the Anglo-Saxons were of great importance for the formation of British statehood, etc.). Secondly, the threat of a Viking invasion itself forced the local aristocracy to unite and mobilize and strengthen its own power. Thirdly, in many European states Scandinavians were involved as military mercenaries, especially in the royal and imperial guards. Thus, being part of the elite troops, being the support of the highest power, the Varangians often participated in the exercise of this power, were appointed to important military posts and could even form the backbone of the serving aristocracy.

For Rus', all three identified factors turned out to be significant, which manifested themselves with varying degrees of intensity in Russian history. The detachments of Rurik and Oleg, which appeared in Eastern Europe in the 9th century, first played an important role in the creation of the Northern center of Rus' (862), and then in the unification of the North and South (882). The role of the Varangians, as well as the military leaders, whose names we know as Rurik and Oleg, cannot be denied here. The ethnicity of the Varangians who came to Eastern Europe and the degree of their participation in the unification process of the local Slavic nobility remain the subject of scientific debate. Varangian detachments in the 9th–11th centuries. formed the basis of the princely mercenary army and his squad. Varangian names appear under the treaties between Rus' and Byzantium in 911 and 944. We know about the role of the Varangians in battles, about their performance as hired killers (they killed Yaropolk Svyatoslavich in 978, finished off Boris Vladimirovich in 1015). Moreover, among the Varangians there were also eminent ones: the future king of Norway (995–1000) Olav Tryggvason served in Vladimir’s squad.

As for such a factor as resistance to raids, then, according to the chronicle, the very situation with Rurik’s “calling” was due to the expulsion of the Varangians overseas and the destabilization that followed.

The chronicler wrote: “They drove the Varangians overseas, and there was no date for tribute to them, and the Volodymyrs began in themselves, and there was no truth in them, and generation after generation arose, and began to fight against each other. And they decided within themselves: “Let's look for himself a prince, who would rule over us and judge us by right.”

Thus, it was the confrontation with the Varangians that contributed to the mobilization of the local Slavic and Finno-Ugric nobility and pushed them to make decisions that were fateful for Rus'.

What attracted the Varangians to the lands of the future Ancient Rus'? After all, there were no cities and monasteries here, as in Western Europe, by plundering which you could get rich booty. Eastern Europe was of interest to the Vikings primarily as a transit zone. There were two important trade routes here. First - Volga trade routes, through the Neva to Ladoga, to Volkhov and Lake Ilmen, further along Lovat, then the ships were dragged to the Volga, but which descended through Volga Bulgaria to the Caspian Sea. Thus, the route, formed in the second half of the 8th century, connected Scandinavia and the countries of the East, primarily the Arab Caliphate.

As A.N. Kirpichnikov showed, the caravan movement of ships from Scandinavia (for example, from the city of Birka) to the Caspian Sea (for example, to Derbent) took about two months, during which the ships covered 5500 km. The average daily travel speed was 25 km. This meant that the ship could only make one such voyage during the summer season. But the profit due to the price difference reached 1000% - there was a reason to embark on a long journey to distant lands!

The Volga trade route was the main source of silver for the medieval Scandinavians. Northern Europe in the Middle Ages did not develop its own deposits of silver, which formed the basis of monetary circulation. The Vikings sailed to the East for silver, and along the way, naturally, there was trade in furs, slaves, fabrics, jewelry, weapons, etc.

"Silver was an object of passion in Viking Age Scandinavia. Wherever the Danes, Norwegians or Swedes found themselves at that time, they highly valued this precious metal, and its acquisition was one of their main goals, whether as pirates, merchants, or mercenaries They often had other desires, since many needed land to settle on, while others were looking for adventure and the opportunity to win a glorious name for themselves, but everyone was glad of any opportunity to seize or take away silver. It was for Muslim silver that the Scandinavian merchants went for it. Volga, and it was silver that the English kings and Byzantine emperors paid the Scandinavian mercenaries for their service. For some, the acquisition of silver in order to save it or wear it in the form of jewelry was an end in itself, while others saw it as a means to get other desired things - food, wine. or fidelity. Some skillfully turned it into beautiful objects... while others, caring little about the craftsmanship and artistry, were interested only in the weight of the metal and chopped their silver into pieces."

In the 760–780s. the so-called dirham trade(dirhams are Arabic silver coins). A huge flow of silver flowed through Rus' to Scandinavia. Today, archaeologists have found 160,000 Arab dirhams from the 8th–11th centuries in treasures and burials in Northern and Eastern Europe. This is a lot: after all, only a small part of the coins that were in daily circulation ended up in the treasures.

According to T. Jackson, “the Eastern European river system was an ideal route for long-distance international trade.” The Varangians moved along it to the East. And here they immediately faced a problem: for the route to function successfully, it had to be controlled by some significant force that could guarantee the safety of merchants, protect trading posts, create conditions for trade, etc.

“The formation of a large transcontinental trade route objectively served as one of the important factors (if not the decisive prerequisite) for the emergence of statehood in the north of Eastern Europe. The natural completion of these processes is the emergence of an early state formation in this region, headed by in the 860s, by agreement with local nobility - a Scandinavian military leader."

The processes in Eastern Europe associated with the Varangians were very dynamic. The Vikings came here in the second half of the 8th century, established traffic along the Volga trade route, and with their participation, the Northern Center of Russian statehood was created in the North of future Rus', the capital of which was Ladoga. But already at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. the situation is changing significantly. The culprit, apparently, was the Khazar Khaganate, which blocked the lower, southern part of the Volga route: the Khazars did not want to let the Scandinavians into the Caspian Sea and claimed to be intermediaries in trade. In addition, the Lower Volga was restless. There was an active migration of warlike nomadic tribes here: the Hungarians made their way to the West, the Pechenegs migrated, etc. The Volga route in its lower part has lost stability and security.

Of course, all this was not profitable for the Scandinavians, since profits fell significantly and the risk increased. They concentrate their trade on the Middle Volga, where their main partner is Volga Bulgaria. However, this results in the loss of the transcontinental nature of the route from the Baltic to the East. In the 9th century. (the dates are given differently: according to G.S. Lebedev, in the 820-830s, according to other researchers, a little later, at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century) the Scandinavians are groping for a new path - no longer through the Volga, but through Dnieper (in 882 (arbitrary date) Oleg takes Kyiv and unites the North and South of Rus'). A new path that went down in history as the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" led from the shores of the Baltic to the Black Sea and further to Byzantium and the Mediterranean.

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks", according to G.S. Lebedev, “not only united the Eastern Slavs with the outside world, but first of all connected the neighboring various and interdependent economic-geographical zones of agriculture (ancient highly productive - in the south, stable - in the Dnieper-Dvina interfluve, unstable and supplemented by non-agrarian forms of activity - in the northern lands), predetermined the historical destinies of the East Slavic tribes and peoples both for the decades of the 9th century that followed the fleeting “era of Dir”, and for millennia ahead, “Rus of Dir” was probably a historical predecessor in equal measure “. Rus' of Askold”, and “Rus of Rurik”, and then of Kievan Rus itself on this path “from northern barbarism to Hellenistic-Christian spirituality”. The Wisdom of God in the main cities on the way from the Varangians to the Greeks - Kyiv, Polotsk, Novgorod. This manifestation of the spiritual unity of Rus', carried out by Yaroslav the Wise, completed the work of his predecessors, who united and acted at the head of the pre-Christian, pagan, archaic “Rus” of the 9th–10th centuries.

Meanwhile, the discovery of a new route did not save the Varangian transcontinental trade. Silver came from Iran and Central Asia, through the Caspian Sea, and the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” along the Dnieper led only to the Black Sea. To trade with Asia, the Vikings still had to either resort to the mediation of the Khazar Khaganate or Byzantium, or try to penetrate through their lands. In the absence of a direct waterway, this turned out to be unprofitable.

During the X–XI centuries. the role of the Varangians is steadily declining. Around the Kyiv princes, their own layer of aristocrats and warriors is being formed, in which the role of immigrants from Scandinavia is decreasing. They are being replaced by the Slavs - boyars and warriors. The Varangians turn into a layer of military mercenaries and merchants. In conditions of civil strife, mercenaries are usually not trusted: after all, they are easy to outbid, they betray, and go over to the enemy’s side. Therefore, the princes preferred their own, local military personnel, resorting to mercenaries less and less often - mainly to solve narrowly specific tasks. Scandinavian merchants, against the backdrop of the declining importance of the transcontinental route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and the growth of intra-Russian trade, also lost their exceptional positions. As a result, by the 12th century. The Varangians completely disappeared from the pages of Russian history.

The Varangians left a large complex of sources - the so-called sagas, artistic works about the exploits of the Vikings, written according to the laws of the genre. The sagas are a specific historical source, however from them you can learn a lot about the history of Gardariki, as the Scandinavians called Rus',

The emergence of the Vikings

Skilled Sailors

Raids on Britain

Conquest of England

Normans and Franks

Scandinavian discovery of America

Vikings and Rus'

Life of the inhabitants of Scandinavia

Viking armor and weapons

Last Normans

The emergence of the Vikings

Skilled Sailors

Raids on Britain

Conquest of England

Normans and Franks

Scandinavian discovery of America

Vikings and Rus'

Life of the inhabitants of Scandinavia

Viking armor and weapons

Last Normans

The role of the Varangians (Vikings) in the history of Ancient Rus'

Personality of a safe type psychological and social aspect Contents of behavior of a personality of a safe type